The Qi Family Gang (29)

"Wait until the fish eggs in our bodies mature..." Gu Xiang Kai's face was deathly pale.

Nan Yue nodded. "That's when the monster in the deep pool will harvest us."

Or rather, it would harvest the fish eggs.

"Even though that thing eats anything, its favorite—or perhaps what it finds most delicious—must be the fish eggs."

Compared to humans, fish eggs raised on human flesh were far more delectable.

That was why it went through such a convoluted process, turning everyone into hosts for the eggs. The eggs grew by feeding on the hosts' fear and despair until they completely drained them, turning into a gourmet feast.

In the end, the host would be left as nothing but an empty husk.

Even their eyes would become a nesting ground for the eggs.

"More and more hosts are reaching maturity now. We don't have much time left."

The three of them quickened their pace toward the back mountain. No one asked exactly how they were supposed to deal with the thing in the deep pool.

By the time Nan Yue and the others reached the deep pool, Zhu Xi Ning was already standing nearby, dressed in her red opera gown.

She was pale and looked quite disheveled.

The silent bells she carried were now ringing loudly, their chimes echoing across the entire back mountain.

"A-Nan," Zhu Xi Ning looked over. Her eyes were incredibly calm, even cold, but her voice still carried her usual tone.

"The thing below is extremely dangerous. You only have this one chance to try."

"It is pitch black beneath the deep pool; you won't be able to see it."

Zhu Xi Ning realized now that the death omen she had seen wasn't hers—it was Nan Yue's.

In that absolute darkness, Nan Yue would only be able to see the creature's eyes. But the thing was too fast; if she only saw its eyes, it would be nearly impossible to time her reactions correctly.

Nan Yue would lose the initiative.

"You need my eyes."

Zhu Xi Ning's expression remained cold, but her words sent a chill through the others.

"Who are you?" For the first time, Nan Yue couldn't tell if she was speaking to Zhu Xi Ning or Number Two.

"I am Zhu Xi Ning."

Zhu Xi Ning's face was ashen and her body was trembling with fear, but her words were resolute, without a hint of hesitation.

"We are Zhu Xi Ning."

Nan Yue was surprised. She hadn't expected Zhu Xi Ning and Number Two to appear at the same time. It seemed both personalities were aware of each other and were co-existing peacefully.

"Can you see that thing from up here?"

Zhu Xi Ning glanced at the churning, boiling water of the deep pool. "I can only see a massive dark shadow. I can't make it out clearly."

"But if I go down with you, I'll only drag you down."

Number Two was capable, but she was no match for Nan Yue.

Furthermore, Nan Yue was empowered by pollution and wouldn't die easily. Zhu Xi Ning had no such advantage. If Nan Yue had to divide her attention to protect her, they would be at too much of a disadvantage.

"Then..."

Before Nan Yue could say another word, Zhu Xi Ning reached out and, with a sickening squelch, plunged her fingers into her own eye socket.

She gouged out her own eyeball.

Blood gushed out, and Jiang Siyan reacted instantly, using his white mist to stop the bleeding.

She was shaking violently from the pain, but she managed to speak clearly.

"You... take my eye."

"Even if you absorb my eye, you'll only be able to use my awakened ability for five minutes at most."

"Hurry."

Nan Yue gave Zhu Xi Ning a long, deep look. Black mist surged out, enveloping the eyeball in her palm and quickly absorbing it.

In the next moment, her vision transformed. Everything was tinted with a blood-red hue.

The gray sky and the heavy rain now looked like breathing sludge and pouring mucus.

By directly absorbing Zhu Xi Ning's eyeball, Nan Yue had maximized her perception. Zhu Xi Ning herself could only see vague colors and sense danger, but Nan Yue could see everything with startling clarity.

Nan Yue looked toward the deep pool. Even with this top-tier perception, she could only see darkness within the water.

She gritted her teeth and turned back. "I'm going alone. None of you are to follow me."

Jiang Siyan stood to the side, letting the rain soak his hair, looking somewhat pathetic. He said nothing; though he desperately wanted to follow her, he knew he would only be a burden.

Iron thorns wrapped around Nan Yue's waist. Gu Xiang Kai wiped the water from his face. "I'm not letting go."

Time was of the essence. Nan Yue didn't say anything else. She gave the three of them one last look, then took a running leap into the deep pool.

The thick, foul-smelling liquid enveloped her like jelly. She forced her eyes open, and thanks to Zhu Xi Ning's eye, she could see clearly beneath the surface.

There were no other animals in the pool, and not even aquatic plants grew there. Just like the stream Gu Xiang Kai had seen before, it was barren.

The pool was bottomless, its true depth impossible to discern. It wasn't a simple vertical shaft; at a certain depth, it expanded outward, seemingly infinite. It was possible the entire underground area of the mountain range was filled by this pool.

They hadn't expected it to be so vast, nor did they know where it led.

And where was the thing in the deep pool?

Nan Yue searched, and as the seconds ticked by, she still couldn't find the man-sized moss-green sphere.

Suddenly, Nan Yue's movements in the viscous liquid came to a halt. She slowly turned around, and her entire body froze in place.

A colossal figure loomed behind her.

It was an indescribable entity—neither dragon nor fish. Its silhouette seemed boundless; even with Zhu Xi Ning's eyes, she couldn't see where it ended.

But it was undoubtedly facing her, for two massive moss-green spheres were positioned right in front of her.

In the center of those eyes were blood-red vertical pupils, like slits in glass, positioned on either side of the monster's head.

The monster's head resembled a fish, but its body was covered in lumps the size of young calves, which emitted black gas into the water.

The creature's cold eyes stared at Nan Yue with an arrogant, condescending gaze. Before it, she was nothing more than a speck of dust.

Realizing she was in the presence of such a being, even Nan Yue felt her heart stop for a few seconds.

Surrounded by impenetrable darkness, the thing behind her was the only source of light, yet those two emotionless glass-like spheres were chilling. It was a fear born from an unbridgeable gap, a shiver of the soul that transcended emotion or spirit.

Then, the creature opened its mouth.

Its fish-like head suddenly split horizontally in two, as if its entire skull had been cleaved open.

Inside was a bright red maw.

The creature had no sharp teeth; instead, its mouth was filled with countless fleshy holes of various sizes, like suction cups. Those holes were pulsing, and from within them, red fleshy strips—like tongues—emerged and danced together.